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List of real life references
This is a list of real life topics or fictional works which exist in reality that have been referenced in the ''Dragon Ball'' manga, the anime series Dragon Ball Z and Dragon Ball GT, and various video games spun off by the series. ''Dragon Ball'' * In one scene during the Emperor Pilaf Saga, Emperor Pilaf is dancing about while holding a globe that has continents in the same shape as those of the real world. ''Dragon Ball Z'' * In the episode "The Arrival of Raditz", an ostrich farmer's pickup truck bears the Chevrolet logo. * In the episode "The End of Snake Way", Goku recalls English physicist Isaac Newton with the statement, "Sir Isaac Newton would've never live to tell about it if one of those hit him," referring to the severe gravity on King Kai's planet which caused a falling fruit to sink an indefinite depth into the ground. * King Kai's pet monkey Bubbles may be named after American entertainer Michael Jackson's own pet monkey. * The closing narration of the episode "The Legend of the Saiyans" states that Saiyans Vegeta and Nappa have already entered the Earth's solar system and are passing the planet Jupiter (the planet is also depicted in the background of the scene). * Shortly after Vegeta and Nappa reach Earth in the episode "A Black Day for Planet Earth", delirious East City residents in the vicinity of the landing site speculate and converse about what should be done. One suggestion to notify the police is countered with, "Yeah right. What'll they do? They'll just say it's a weather balloon." This is a reference to the Roswell UFO incident of 1947, after which the Eighth Air Force general officer of the time explained that a weather balloon had in fact been recovered by Roswell Army Air Field personnel, rather than a "flying saucer." * Although possibly no more than a coincidence, dialogue between Tien Shinhan and Nappa in the episode "The Battle Begins...Goku Where Are You?" holds some reference to Yoda, a character in the Star Wars franchise. Tien states, ". . . Besides, I'm not worried about little green men from outer space" (referring to the Saibamen grown by Nappa to combat the Z Fighters), to which Nappa retorts, "You will be, don't worry. You will be." This mirrors the dialogue between Luke Skywalker and Yoda, notably a green character from an extraterrestrial planet (although Earth is not directly featured in the Star Wars mythos), in the 1980 Star Wars film The Empire Strikes Back, in which Skywalker assures, "I won't fail you. I'm not afraid," followed by Yoda's digression that, "Yeah, you will be. You will be." * In the episode "Goku vs. Vegeta... A Saiyan Duel!", Oolong references the Empire State Building of New York City, when comparing Goku's power level as higher than the height of the structure. * In the episode "Time's Up!", Piccolo mentions the battle between David and Goliath described in the Christian Old Testament, referring to the physical differences between himself and Nappa. * In the episode "A New Goal... Namek", a news reporter on the television at Kong Hospital where Goku is left to recover after the battle with Vegeta closes his report with, "This is Milton Monroe reporting live, and now back to Barbie and Ken in the newsroom." * En route to the planet Namek in the episodes "Journey to Namek" and "Friends or Foes?" Bulma's appearance where she wears a bellyshirt and control briefs is similar to Ellen Ripley dressed in her underwear during the closing sequences of the 1979 film Alien, which also takes place in outer space. * While searching the desert of Fake Namek in the episode "Hunt for a Dragonball", Bulma sings Peter Berring's main title theme of the ''Dragon Ball'' anime. * Also in "Hunt for a Dragonball", Zaacro states that tornadoes on the planet never dissipate, and will always remain active like the Great Red Spot of Jupiter. * When Cui lands on Namek in pursuit of Vegeta, he invites Vegeta to "come out and play." This is a reference to a statement in the 1979 film The Warriors. * In the episode "The Eldest Namek", Orlen calls a Namekian survivor of Vegeta's rampage a "green goblin." This is also the name of a character in the Marvel Comics series Spider-Man. * In the episode "Clash of the Super Powers", when Goku decides to take seriously a barrage of boulders Frieza is telekinetically using to attack him, he declares, "hammer time!" This may be a reference to the MC Hammer song "U Can't Touch This". * In the episode "Frieza's Boast", Bulma references real life English primatologist Jane Goodall, with her statement that ". . . I could be the next Jane Goodall, except with frogs." * In the episode "Namek's Explosion... Goku’s End?", Yamcha recalls Jewish-Hungarian magician and escapologist Harry Houdini, with the statement, "Hey, Goku's gotten himself out of some hairy situations. If there's any way out he'll find it, he's like the great Houdini or something. I guarantee he'll get out of there." * In the episode "The Heavens Tremble", a sharply dressed Krillin remarks to Gohan, "Yeah it's me, enh, See?" in a manner reminiscent of 1930s B-movie gangster films, to which Gohan responds, "That's the worst Humphrey Bogart imitation I've ever heard." This is a reference to the American actor who early in his film career was often typecast as a gangster in such films. * One of the three possessed city residents who are seen ravaging a car in the episode "Suicidal Course" has a face similar in likeness to a hockey mask. Because there is some horror to the context of this character's appearance, his hockey mask face may be a reference to Jason Voorhees of the Friday the 13th franchise. * During a dream sequence in "Frieza's Counterattack", Goku states that he guesses he "shouldn't have taken that left turn at Mars." * Android 16's voice in the Funimation dub (provided by Jeremy Inman) gives the character a somewhat Austrian accent. This may be in reference to the Terminator film series. Another reference to Terminator made by Android 16, particularly to Terminator 2: Judgment Day, takes place during one of the alternate timelines of the ''Budokai Tenkaichi'' video game series, during the stage Affectionate Android. According to the timeline, Android 16 was sent from the future to kill Goku, but must first fight Android 8 to get to him (referencing the assassin T-1000, its intended victim John Connor and his defender, the T-800). Further referencing the film series, Android 16 even uses the word 'terminate' to express his need to kill Goku. * A sequence during the World Tournament Saga features Krillin reading a newspaper entitled USA News. * In the Funimation dub of Super Android 13!, Krillin, Master Roshi, Future Trunks and Oolong are at a beauty pageant where they mention the countries of Russia, Spain, France, and Australia. * Early in the original Japanese version of Broly: The Legendary Super Saiyan, Gohan calls Krillin the best singer in Japan. * Also in Broly: The Legendary Super Saiyan, Paragus' death sequence has several striking similarities to Kaori's death in the 1988 animated film Akira, however to a much less graphic extent. In both films, the victim is crushed to death by someone close to them, and the actual sequences illustrating the deaths of both Paragus and Kaori show the area around them collapsing, before completely enclosing them. Kaori's death culminates in depicting her physically "popping" however, whereas Paragus' body simply disappears within the caved Saiyan Pod. One plot-related distinction between the two is that Paragus is murdered by Broly, whereas Kaori is sucked into Tetsuo's body which swells into a gigantic blob because of his uncontrollable power, and as such Tetsuo is only left hoping the best for his girlfriend without actually being aware that she has already died. * In the film Fusion Reborn, the "Dictator" character is an allusion to Austrian-born politician Adolf Hitler. Category:Lists